Shares of Bharti Airtel tanked nearly 5 percent in early deals on July 11 following the reports that Adani Group may enter the telecom space, which may lead another round of disruption in the market.
An Adani Group entity has joined the race to acquire 5G telecom spectrum, which would pit it against Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel and Vodafone-Birla Group joint venture Vi.
However, Adani Group in a statement clarified that its intention to acquire 5G spectrum is to provide a private network for airports and its ports business and not providing mass telecom services.
Nonetheless, the sirens sounded on Dalal Street as investors feared the possibility of entry of another deep-pocketed player in the industry may not bode well for existing players.
As of 9.37 am, Bharti Airtel was down 4.53 per cent to Rs 663.75 on BSE. Reliance Industries, which owns Jio, also fell 0.3 percent to Rs 2383.95. Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, was not affected much as it traded with marginal gains at Rs 8.46.
The government is putting 72 Ghz of 5G frequencies for sale that could net up to Rs 4.5 lakh-crore at base prices. The airwaves will be auctioned for 20 years across 10 bands ranging from 600 Mhz to 26 Ghz at prices recommended by the telecom regulator.
Four companies – Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea and Adani Group – have put in applications to participate in India's first auction of 5G airwaves starting July 26.
Earlier, it was expected that the bidding war will be muted, however, the entry of Adani in the fray has changed the situation. It may lead to higher competition and telcos may have to shell out extra to buy the spectrum now.
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